According to Sony’s US marketing boss John Koller, former fans of other consoles are the people who’re now rushing to buy the PlayStation 4. Citing some or other internal marketing data that may in fact be wholly fabricated, Koller said that 31% of new PlayStation owners PlayStation 4 had an Xbox 360 or Wii in the last generation, but skipped the PS3.

According to that very same research, 17 per cent didn’t even own a console in the last generation, suggesting that it’s bringing in new consumers – or even bringing PC gamers over in to the console side of life.

For the most part though, the 8 or s million people that have bought PS4’s to date are the sort you’d call “The core gamer.”

“The person that we’ve picked up since launch primarily is someone we call the connoisseur, someone that loves, unequivocally, loves games,” Koller told Kotaku. “They are the people who, when you walk in [to their home], there’s no books on their book shelves. They’re all game packages. They’re the people who stood in line at midnight [for the console’s launch]. They really are a fantastic consumer for us. They’re a great part of the PlayStation nation.”

That said, it’s not just the usual early adopters rushing to buy the consoles.

“One thing that’s interesting, though, is that we’re starting to see a lot more of what we thought were going to be adopters later down the cycle coming in really early.”

Are you an Xbox 360 or Wii owner who’s gone with the PlayStation 4 this generation? Here in South Africa, I imagine very many former Xbox fans have switched this generation. They’ve had little choice; the Xbox One is yet to be released locally, though it’s coming in September.

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In this article

I'm old, grumpy and more than just a little cynical. One day, I found myself in possession of a NES, and a copy of Super Mario Bros 3. It was that game that made me realise that games were more than just toys to idly while away time - they were capable of being masterpieces.
I'm here now, looking for more of those masterpieces.
I am also the emperor of the backend

See I don’t find that funny, why would you find someone seriously injuring themselves funny?

Rince&exhale

no, you are quite correct. That was poor form.

Hesperus Phosphorus

It’s called ‘Schadenfreude’… and people who hurt themselves doing particularly stupid things (usually in an attempt to be ‘awesome’) deserve to be laughed at.

zeemonkeyman

You tell that to mothers who have lost there kids in horrific car accidents all because they were teenagers trying to impress people or get an adrenalin rush. When people are young their brains don’t quite work properly (google it, it’s a fact ) which causes them to take stupid risks, does that mean they deserve to be maimed or killed? No, no it doesn’t.

Hesperus Phosphorus

Yes.

Death by stupidity. Natural eugenics.

zeemonkeyman

Teenagers brains aren’t right (it’s a fact look it up) and it makes them take stupid dangerous risks, does that mean they deserve to be maimed or killed? No, no it doesn’t.

Sway

Cool Lambo pedal cart….

VampyreSquirrel

I’ll be going PS4 this gen… when I can afford it.

Ottokie

Also jumping on the PS4 train but only when that smexy white PS4 launches.

Sk3tz0

With the Snow Camo Controller.. So much WIN

Rince&exhale

See you there brudda!

FoxOneZA

Precisely that. The Xbox 360 appealed to a demographic that couldn’t afford the PS3. Remember how ludicrously priced that was at launch? Now MS wants to compete at the same price point but with inferior hardware.

VampyreSquirrel

Took me 3 years (give or take) to join the previous gen of consoles, just because of price (my jobs at the time didn’t help much either)… may be the same story this gen. We’ll see.

MichaelMatusowsky

job[s]. You’re a strong human. I wanna kill myself just studying.

https://twitter.com/SaveTheQueenIX Badass Eyepatch Man

I’ve gone from 360 to Wii U…Booyah, row row fight the POWAH

FoxOneZA

I’ve done the same and also use the PC for multiplat titles.

https://twitter.com/SaveTheQueenIX Badass Eyepatch Man

I’ve gone from 360 to Wii U…Booyah, row row fight the POWAH

Hammersteyn

ion? Time to go home!

Hammersteyn

ion? Time to go home!

Alien Emperor Trevor

Well that explains why I don’t have a PS4. I have too many books.

Alien Emperor Trevor

Well that explains why I don’t have a PS4. I have too many books.

Hammersteyn

The XBOX ONE in the header is to scale, but the PS4 isn’t that big

oVgeeeeee Comet Drop

and it has no external brick yet its smaller than the Bone.

My mind cant compute.

Pieter Kruger

So now you have to complete an online survey before you can start playing the PS4??????

No books on the bookshelves, standing in long midnight launches. “American gamers”?

Sony fucked up with the launch of the PS3. I still don’t want one. And believe it of not but the Xbox 360 started off as a really good gaming console with some nice games. But then the NXE dashboard took all the focus off gamers and games and focused on Xbox Live and Kinect, no more focus on the gamer, nor creating new games. I mean they had Rare and what was Rare doing, Kinect Sports.

Sony learnt a lot since the launch of the PS3. The focus on creating new games and more new games, has brought PS3 back where today I think it has more consoles sold than the Xbox 360.

Microsoft fucked up with the Xbox One because it needs the internet to activate and that is not an option for a lot of people and when I say a lot, I mean a lot. So all those offline Xbox 360 users are going to get the PS4.

I have never owned a Playstation console. I went with the Xbox and Xbox 360. I’m not a early adopter, I don’t do midnight launches, I have books on my book shelf and when the next GTA game hits consoles, I will be getting the PS4.

Don’t support DRM. Internet activation to get a gaming console to work. Fuck that.

DrKiller

Dude your comment is longer than the article! We believe in TLDR; over here!

Ryanza

Ya I know. I don’t like writing these long comments but it’s Friday so who cares. Not like it’s a Monday.

Sk3tz0

U remind me of the blind preacher from Little Nicky

Ryanza

But, after much thought and careful consideration, I’ve decided that the ruler for the next 5 years is going to have to be…PS4

Brian Murphy

“And believe it of not but the Xbox 360 started off as a really good gaming console with some nice games”

I actually choose to disagree on this point. It had some nice games…but the 360 for the first 2-3 years of it’s life was one of the worst pieces of crap to ever have been released into the market. The white washing people do, to forget the FACT that Microsoft knew it was releasing a machine with defective architecture is quite amazing.

Ryanza

So you agree that there was some nice games but RROD made it a bad console.

My comment was specifically on how the console played the games. I do understand that the console couldn’t play the games with RROD but when the console worked the games played nicely on it.

Brian Murphy

Well, that’s part of my issue here. I cannot just gloss over the hardware issue like so many have (not saying you are). Microsoft should’ve paid a hell of a lot more of a price in the industry, than simply their billion dollar band-aid program which didn’t fix anything, it just ensured that fans would get another defective unit as quickly as possible.

From a consumer standards position, it’s a terrible thing that gamer’s allowed to occur. It’s terrible thing for the industry to say yeah, we know you made this horrifying piece of crap, but the mere handful of games you can’t get anywhere else but here, makes me turn the other cheek.

Gamer’s really, really need to start policing the industry better. If they think Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo really have their best interests at heart, man, they’re in for a rude awakening.

Krypty

I would have made the banner with a picture of Sherlock Homes stating the following quote: “No shit, Sherlock”

How MS approached the situation and especially in the case of ZA and in many other countries I cannot blame fans and customers.

This generation could be decided not on Hardware and titles but how PR and marketing handled the situation in the beginning.

FoxOneZA

And Sony know’s this how? O_O

Ir0nseraph

I went from 360 to PS4 , kinda right about the books thou there definitely not on the self any more, E-books so much easier.

Mike Doutchevitch

It’s true in my case. The 2 companies reversed between the 2 generations. Last gen the xbox360 came out first. It was cheaper and for a long time had more games. I couldn’t understand why anybody bought the PS3 when it came out, just as I can’t understand why anybody would buy an xboxOne now.

BacchusZA

I’m most assuredly a PC gamer, but I’ll eventually get a PS4, because there’ll be some pretty wicked exclusives over its lifespans.

I’ll also get the XBone at some point too, for the exact same reason, same as I did both last gen consoles.

Even if all they do is sit on my coffee table & collect dust 99% of the time because I can’t play my SWTOR or flight sims on them :p

Marigold

I’m a former xbox 360 owner who made the jump to PS4. I bought it the minute it launched here. I can’t be happier.

Veeash Lala

I have a ps3 and x360 but before the now ‘next gen’ consoles were around I was by far an xbox fan. Everything seemed a ball ache from Sony whereas with MS it was easy. Somehow both parties did an about turn. I must say I’m ecstatic about the ps4. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt such pride with a console; counting the hrs before I go home and boot it up. Well played Sony, well played.

Lydon McG

Made the jump from the 360 to PS4 myself. Couldn’t be happier!

CAE9872

Not necessarily that far fetched. Whether the numbers work are perhaps debatable but just sheer numbers vs each other means there must have been some movement.